What to do when things go wrong with SEND
Complaining
If there has been a mistake or there has been a delay
Sometimes things go wrong - what can you do when there is a mistake or delay relating to SEND?
Step 1
If you disagree with a decision, find out whether you should either:
- make a complaint
- make a disability discrimination complaint or claim
- appeal the decision
If you have the right to appeal, you should do that to get the decision looked at again. A complaint will not be enough to change the decision. Usually if you have the right to appeal you will have received a letter or email about the decision. There will be information about how to appeal included. For example, perhaps you have asked for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) and it has been refused. Or perhaps your child has been permanently excluded from school. There is more information on the what to do when things go wrong - appealing page.
If you feel your child has been treated unfairly because of their disability, you may want to make a disability discrimination complaint or claim. See our step by step guidance on the that's not fair - disability discrimination page.
If there is not a right to appeal and your concern isn't about disability discrimination, move to step 2.
Step 2
Start gently, but promptly - If you have a complaint, we recommend making your concerns known informally as soon as possible by contacting the professional involved, such as the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), Social Worker or Education, Health and Care Coordinator (EHCCo). You may want to ask for a meeting or discussion.
- Use an email if you can so that you have a record that you can refer back to.
- Explain clearly and briefly what the mistake or delay is.
- Try to avoid blaming anyone.
- Say what the impact of the mistake or delay is.
- Set a time for the professional to respond.
- Say what you want to happen.
For example: At my meeting with you on 3 May, I was told that my child would be getting extra help for his difficulty with sitting still and listening. I am unhappy because it is now November and he hasn't had any help and keeps getting into trouble. Can we meet to discuss this? Respond within 2 weeks.
If you do not hear back or the response is unsatisfactory, you may want to contact their manager.
If this does not resolve your concerns you may wish to move to step 3 and make a formal complaint.
Step 3
Make your complaint. Check you know who to complain to and how to do so. Local authorities, health services and schools and other providers will have their own complaints procedures, usually on their websites. Many organisations have time limits for making a complaint:
On the GOV.UK page it explains your rights re complaining about a school.
To do this it will be important to refer to the school’s complaints policy and their SEND policies and their SEND information report all available on their website.
The Contact website has a template which may be useful to help structure your complaint.
If you complain about issues affecting more than one child following the school complaints process and are not satisfied with the response, your next step may be to complain to Ofsted. For more information visit, Complaining to Ofsted | (IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice.
This is for complaints about Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments and Education, Health and Care Plans. If you have a right of appeal you should use that instead. More information can be found on the appealing page.
You may want to start with the escalation protocol. There are different escalation protocols for each area. If you don't know which area to contact, you could contact one and ask for your complaint to be passed on to the correct one.
These are
If you want your concern to be investigated and chased on your behalf instead of a complaint you could try contacting the SEND Resolutions team – email [email protected]
To make a formal complaint to Buckinghamshire Council, you can do this by visiting the Buckinghamshire feedback, complaints and compliments policy page. You should expect to receive a written response to your complaint within 20 working days
To make a complaint about a particular service use the webform Complain about our services | Buckinghamshire Council
IPSEA has more than 20 model letters to help you to write your complaint.
These include:
For example, the Admissions team, Transport team, Exclusions team, Family Support
Make a formal complaint to Buckinghamshire Council:
This tells you more:
Buckinghamshire feedback, complaints and compliments policy. You should expect to receive a written response to your complaint within 20 working days.
To make a complaint use the webform Complain about our services
You can complain about children’s social care here: Children and young people social care compliments, complaints and comments. The guide from Cerebra may help you to structure your complaint.
The 'Have your say' guide for young people explains what to expect.
You can complain about adults' social care by visiting the Adult social care compliments and complaints page.
View how to complain about health organisations in Bucks on the Healthwatch Bucks website.
If you need help making a complaint about an NHS service you can get support from The Advocacy People.
For more information, see the Family Information Services site